DALLAS, USA:  AT&T today announced that it is the recipient of the 2009 North America New Product Innovation Award in Information and Communication Technologies from industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.

The award was presented to AT&T as a recognition of AT&T's ongoing commitment to the growth and success of small businesses nationwide, for its Tech Support 360 service introduced last year.

Frost & Sullivan noted that AT&T was the first communications services provider among its peers to offer the small and midsize business customer market a service like AT&T Tech Support 360, which provides remote, online technical support, including wireless network setup, software installation and training, setup of security software and configuration of peripherals, said a press release.

"We believe AT&T has done its homework well and has made a strong market move with Tech Support 360. Even one year since introduction, none of AT&T's competitors or even peers that are active in the small and mid-sized business segment offer a similar remote technical support service," said Michael Suby, director of Stratecast, a Division with Frost & Sullivan.

Ebrahim Keshavarz, vice president of Business Development, AT&T said, "We're extremely proud to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for our Tech Support 360 service, which offers small and midsize businesses the IT support they need to focus on their business and succeed.”

He added that the service provides customers with access to a 'virtual IT helpdesk' to help them avoid the costs of bringing technicians in-house or the difficulties of trying to fix problems themselves.